Malaysian Naturalization Found to Share Hometown with Messi

Facundo Garces' grandfather is actually from the same hometown as Lionel Messi, not Malaysia.

In the early hours of October 7th, Vietnam time, FIFA officially released evidence regarding the naturalization violations involving seven Malaysian players. As initially alleged by FIFA from the start, the Malaysian Football Association deliberately falsified documents about the Malaysian origins of these seven players.

Specifically, the seven players Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Tomás Garcés, Rodrigo Julián Holgado, Imanol Javier Machuca, João Vitor Brandão Figueiredo, Jon Irazábal Iraurgui, and Hector Alejandro Hevel Serrano were naturalized as Malaysians based on having a grandfather or grandmother born in Malaysia. These players appeared in the match between Malaysia and Vietnam during the third round of the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, held on June 10, 2025, at Bukit Jalil Stadium. However, when FIFA verified the information with the respective countries, the birthplaces were found to be completely inaccurate.

One particularly notable case involves Facundo Garces, who was said to have a grandfather named Carlos Reguilon Fernandez, born in Penang, Malaysia. However, after investigation, FIFA discovered that the player's grandfather was actually born in Argentina and even shares the same province as Lionel Messi.

The latest information reveals that Facundo Garces' grandfather was born in Villa Maria Selva, an area within Santa Fe de la Cruz city, Santa Fe province, Argentina. Interestingly, another famous city in this province is Rosario, the birthplace of football superstar Lionel Messi.

Therefore, Facundo Garces' grandfather can be considered from the same hometown as Messi, meaning the defender shares his origins with the greatest football player in the world. Meanwhile, the grandparents of the other illegally naturalized players were born in Western countries such as the Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, and Spain, not Malaysia as their naturalization documents claimed.

Facundo Garces is currently enjoying a promising career as a key player for Deportivo Alaves in Spain's La Liga. If he continues to improve, he might even have the chance to play for Argentina’s national team. However, by choosing to play for Malaysia and obtaining citizenship illegally, his career now faces the risk of collapse due to a one-year suspension imposed by FIFA.